Freestone drupe pitter and method



p 20, 1966 c. T. PETERSEN ETAL 3,

FREESTONE DRUPE PITTER AND METHOD 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 6, 1965 Inml H LmIH INVENTORS CARL T. PETERSEN ETHERIDGE R. MQCLELLAND BY w, Wgfa?ATTORNEYS p 1966 c. T. PETERSEN ETAL 3,273,692

FREESTONE DRUPE PITTER AND METHOD Filed Jan. 6, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 23 IN V E NTOR5 CARL T. PETERSEN BETHERIDGE R. MQCLELLAND ATTORNEYS UnitedStates Patent 3,273,692 FREESTONE DRU E PITTER AND METHOD Carl T.Petersen, Lafayette, and Etheridge R. McClelland, Hayward, Calif,assignors to Filper Corporation, San Ramon, Califi, a corporation ofCalifornia Filed Jan. 6, 1965, Ser. No. 423,788 7 Claims. (Cl. 19834)This application is a continuation-in-part of copending United Statesapplication Serial No. 307,898, filed September 10, 1963, and has forone of its objects the provision of an improved means, and an improvedmethod, of feeding freestone drupes, such as apricots, for pitting.

Another object of the invention is the provision of improved means andmethod for conveying fruit bodies, such as apricots, to and past apitting station in a line free from any tendency of the fruit bodies tojam against each other during the movement of said bodies to saidpitting station so that said bodies will be more efficiently conductedto said station, and pitted.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of improvedmeans for orienting fruit bodies, such as apricots, during their travelalong a path of travel to a fruit bisecting and pitting mechanism sothat the sutures of the fruit bodies will be in the plane in which thebodies are bisected.

Heretofore in a pitting machine of generally the character of themachine shown and described in this application, where the apricots arerapidly rolled in single file to and past the bisecting and pittingmechanism it is highly desirable that the apricots should not jamagainst each other. Preferably, they should be spaced slightly apart orat least the leading apricot of each adjacent pair in the row should notbe pressed by the trailing apricot.

The apricots from a bulk source are preferably fed to the orienting andtransfer means of the present invention by a feeder substantially asshown in copending application Serial No. 179,552, filed March 14, 1962,now Patent No. 3,199,652, by George E. Kilner and Leonard McGihon. Thisfeeder delivers the apricots in a single file to the present transfermeans, but they are not oriented, and they are relatively closetogether, which is desirable from the standpoint of volume.

In the present invention, as in the aforesaid application Serial No.307,898, the orienting and transfer of the apricots involves a positiverotation of the apricots, as they are carried along the path of travelto the bisecting and pitting means, in a direction opposite to thenormal direction of rotation of a free rolling apricot. Heretofore,adjacent apricots in the row would frequently engage each otherresulting in undesirable jamming or pressure and loss of efliciency inthe orienting of the apricots as Well as in the bisecting and pit-ting.

The present method substantially overcomes the foregoing objectionswithout loss in volume.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the description anddrawings.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a side-elevational view of the machine, partly broken away,illustrating the invention.

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view taken along line 2-2 ofFIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged, cross-sectional view taken along line 33 of FIG.1.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary elevational view of part of the machinesubstantially as seen from line 4-4 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged, fragmentary, side-elevational view of the pittingmechanism that is adjacent to the right-hand end of FIG. 1 illustratingthe mechanism with a drupe positioned therein.

' 3,273,692 C Patented Sept. 20, 1966 FIG. 6 is a fragmentary, enlarged,cross-sectional view taken substantially along line 66 of FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary, enlarged, cross-sectional view showing anapricot in a position at the commencement of the bisecting operation.

FIG. 8 is a view similar to that of FIG. 7 but showing the apricotfarther advanced than in FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a view similar to FIGS. 7, 8, with the apricot in the pittingoperation farther advanced to a position generally corresponding to thatof FIG. 5.

The machine illustrated in the drawings comprises a frame 1 havingparallel horizontally elongated side frame members 2, and extendingbetween said side frame mem bers are end and cross frame members, allbeing a part of frame 1, which frame carries a stationary, horizontallyelongated belt support 3, (FIG. 3). Support 3 is formed with a pair ofhorizontally spaced, parallel, upwardly opening grooves extendinglongitudinally of the support. The upper runs of a horizontallyextending pair of endless V-belts 4 are slidably supported in saidgrooves with the apices of the belts disposed in said grooves, and withthe base surfaces opposite to said apices being formed with a relativelysoft roughened, horizontally disposed surface, such as produced byridges or the like for carrying drupes 5 from left to right as seen inFIG. 1, and to insure rotation of said drupes as they are so carried.

The drupes may be referred to hereinafter as apricots, inasmuch as themachine is primarily used for bisecting and pitting apricots, althoughit is to be understood that the use of the invention is not necessarilylimited to apricots. Also, hereinafter the use of the word frame refersto any rigid part of the frame, including the side frame members 2,where applicable.

The apricots 5 (FIG. 1) are fed onto the feed end of belts 4, which isthe left-hand end of the machine as viewed in FIG. 1, by any suitablesingle-line feeding means, such as is generally designated 6, and asmore fully shown and described in said copending application Serial No.179,552, although this invention is not limited thereto. At said feedend of said machine, the apricots pass between the adjacent horizontallyextending, horizontally spaced opposed runs of a pair of endless belts7, 7' that are parallel with belts 4. The belts 7, 7' are generallyvertical transversely of their lengths, and extend upwardly fromapproximately the upper level of the belts 4 (FIG. 5).

Belts 4 respectively extend over a pulley 8 at the feed end of themachine and over a pulley 9 at the discharge end, the latter being atthe right-hand end of the machine of FIG. 1. The said belts 4 and belts7, 7' are driven by a motor 10 so that the upper runs of said 'belts andthe adjacent runs of belts 7, 7 will move in the same direction fromleft to right as seen in FIG. 1 with the belts 7, 7' being normallymoved at a slower rate of speed than the belts 4, so that the apricotssupported on belts 4 will rotate counterclockwise about their respectivehorizontal axes as they are carried by belts 4 from the feed to thedischarge end of the machine (FIG. 6).

Motor pulley 12 is connected by a belt 13 with a pulley 14 that, inturn, is secured on a shaft 15 (FIG. 1). Shaft 15 is journalled forrotation in bearings carried by frame 1, and said shaft has a sprocketwheel 16 secured thereto, which sprocket wheel is connected by a chain17 with a sprocket wheel 18. The sprocket wheel 18 is secured on a shaft19 that is at the discharge end of the machine, and shaft 19 isjournalled for rotation in bearings carried by the frame 1. Pulley 9 isalso secured on shaft 19.

Pulley 8, which is at the feed end of the machine, is secured on a shaft20, which shaft is journalled for rotation in bearings on frame 1. Asprocket wheel 22 is also secured on shaft 20. This wheel is connectedby a sprocket chain 23 with a sprocket wheel 24, the latter beingsecured on a shaft 25 that, in turn, is rotatable in bearings onframe 1. Shaft 25 has a pair of opposed bevel gears 26, 26' securedthereto, which gears have their teeth in mesh with the teeth of acorresponding pair of bevel gears 27, respectively secured on the lowerends of a pair of vertically extending pulley shafts 28, the latterbeing rotatably supported in bearings carried by frame 1. Pulleys 29 aresecured on the upper ends of shafts 28 at the feed end of the machine,and belts 7 extend around said pulleys, while belts 4 extend over pulley8.

It is to be noted (FIG. 4) that gear 26 is larger in diameter than gear26; hence, the belt 7 will move faster than belt 7. This arrangementinsures the orienting of the apricots between belts 7, 7 before theapricots reach the bisecting and pitting mechanism, so that the minoraxes of the apricots that are normal to a vertical plane bisecting thebodies of the fruit will be horizontal and normal to the path of travelof the apricots between belts 7, 7'. Thus, the apricots will be bisectedto their pits in the plane of their sutures. Were belts 7, 7' to move atthe same speed, there are instances in which the apricots will becarried between and by belts 7, 7 to the bisecting and pitting mechanismwith their sutures in a plane normal to said path of travel. In thepresent arrangement, such apricots are turned, and when the thenslightly flattened sides are against belts 7, 7, the major axis of eachapricot is in a vertical plane and the apricots will engage the belts 4and will be rotated about their axes, and the points of engagementbetween the generally opposedly facing surfaces of belts 7, 7 and theywill remain with their sutures in a vertical plane substantiallybisecting the space between said belts.

Pulleys 30 at the discharge end of the machine (FIG. 2) support thebelts 7, 7 at their ends opposite to the feed end, which pulleys 30 arerotatable on vertically disposed shafts 32, the latter depending fromone of the ends of horizontally disposed arms 33. The opposite ends ofarms 33 are pivotally supported by pivots 34, and a torsion spring 35about each pivot (FIG. 1) is secured at one end to each arm foryieldably swinging the ends carrying the pulley shafts 32 in a directionaway from pulleys 29 to maintain belts 7 relatively taut (FIGS. 1, 2).Pivots 34 are supported on frame 1.

Pivots 36 (FIG. 3) are carried by cross members 37 that, in turn, arerigid on frame 1 and these pivots swingably support one of the ends of apair of equalizer links 38, which links, in turn, are connected at oneof their ends by a pin-slot connection 39, so that the links will swingsimultaneously and to equal degrees relative to spaced pivots 36 wheneither of the arms is swung. Pivots 36 are outwardly of opposite sidesof the pairs of belts 4, and the pin-slot connection between theadjacent ends of each pair of arms is centrally below the pair of belts4. Generally vertically extending shafts 40 rotatably support rollers 42at their upper ends, which rollers engage the opposite outer sides ofthe adjacent runs of belts 7, 7' and the positions of these rollers aresuch that they will cause the said runs of belts 7, 7 to extendconvergently upwardly, transversely of their lengths, so as to yieldablyengage the apricots at opposite sides thereof at points above theirhorizontal axes.

The rollers 42 are preferably positioned to effect the above-describedtransverse inclination of the belts from a point adjacent to the feedend of the machine to a point adjacent to the bisecting and pittingmechanism, and by this arrangement, the apricots will not only be helddownwardly on belts 4 but, together with the relative movement betweenbelts 7, 7 longitudinally thereof, will be oriented so their sutureswill be vertical and in a plane parallel with the belts 4 andsubstantially midway between said belts. It is pertinent to note thatpulleys 29 are spaced apart a sufiicient distance to enable the largestsize fruit to pass between them, and rollers 42 urge the belts closertogether to insure the desired engagement between the belts 4 and thefruit. Thus, the belts 7, 7' extend convergently to the adjacent pulleys42, and then substantially parallel to substantially the discharge endof the machine.

Bisecting and pitting mechanism (lower part) The bisecting and pittingmechanism is supported on a frame and is positioned between the pairs ofpulleys 8, 9, but it is adjacent to pulley 9. While pulley 8 and pulley9 have been referred to as singular, they may obviously be in pairs,inasmuch as they rotate together on shafts 20, 19. The bisecting andpitting mechanism is in two parts; an upper part that is above the belts4 and a lower part that is below and that extends upwardly between belts4. Also, the lower part includes elements that extend upwardly atopposite outer sides of the pair of belts 4 and 7, 7' as will later bedescribed more in detail.

The belt support 3 is divided, longitudinally thereof at the pitting andbisecting mechanism, to provide a 1ongitudinally extending slot 44 (FIG.6) through which a vertically disposed, horizontally elongated blade 45extends from below the belts 4, upwardly between them to a level abovethe latter, when the blade is at a point in the movement, which bladeextends longitudinally of said slot.

Blade 45 is formed along its upper edge with square, unset saw teeth 46,the sharp upper edges of which are preferably directed generally againstthe direction of travel of the body of each apricot 5 (FIG. 9) and tothe direction of rotation of the pit 5' in each apricot. The thicknessof blade 45 is exaggerated in FIG. 5, as is the thickness of belts 7, 7,the latter being preferably of plastic and relatively thin.

Blade 45 is supported vertically on the upper ends of a pair of links47, 48 (FIG. 5). These links are not parallel, and the upper end of link47, which is nearest the feed end of the machine, is connected withblade 45 by a horizontal pivot 49 while the upper end of link 48 isconnected with said blade by a pivot 50. Pivots 49, 50 are relativelywidely spaced apart longitudinally of the blade and are respectivelyadjacent to opposite ends of the blade. The lower end of link 47 isconnected by a horizontal pivot 52 with a bracket 53 rigid on frame 1,while the lower end of link 48 is connected by pivot 54 with one end ofan adjustable arm 55 that is adjustably secured by a bolt 56 to .abracket 57 that is rigid on the frame of the machine. Arm 55 extendsfrom bolt 56 toward the link 47 that is at the end of the blade nearestthe feed end of the machine, and the angle of arm 55 as well as thedistance it projects from bracket 57 may be adjusted, since bolt 56extends through a slot 55' in arm 55, said slot extending longitudinallyof arm 55.

The end of blade 45 that is nearest to the feed end of the machine isconnected by a pivot 58 with one end of a connecting rod 59, and theother end of said rod is connected with a crank pin 60 of an adjustablecrank arm 62 that, in turn, is secured to the other end of a shaft 63(FIG. 1). Shaft 63 carries a pulley that is connected by a belt 64 witha pulley on shaft 15. v

The upper edge of the end of the blade 45 that is adjacent to the feedend of the machine is preferably below the upper level of belts 4, whilethe row of teeth may project above the upper level of the belts, as willbe explained.

In operation, referring to FIG. 5, the blade 45 is shown at the extremeend of its stroke in the direction toward the discharge end of themachine. The row of teeth may be substantially horizontal. Also, due tothe arrangement of links 47, 48, when the connecting rod 59 is in theposition shown in FIG. 5, the row of teeth'46 may be almost parallelwith and adjacent to the upper level of the belts 4. The link 47 isslightly inclined relative to the upper runs of belts 4 from pivot 52 toward the discharge end of the machine and link 48 has a similar butsubstantially greater inclination in the same direction. As a result,when the crank 62 is revolved in the direction of the arrow (FIG. 5) theblade will be moved toward the feed end of the machine and opposite tothe direction of movement of the apricots, and at the same time theblade 45 will move upwardly and will rock so that the end of the row ofteeth adjacent to the discharge end of the machine will be substantiallyhigher than the end of the blade that is nearest to the feed end of themachine (FIG. 1). The row of teeth will have a raking action and willpositively engage the pit that is in the drupe and will cause a relativemovement between the pit and the flesh by rotating the pit in adirection opposite to the direction of rotation of the flesh. Thisreciprocatory and rocking movement of blade 45 is preferably quite rapidrelative to the movement of the conveyor belt 4, and, as already stated,the degree of elevation of the teeth 46 is such as to positively engagea pit in any apricot that is held against the belts 4 and that is movedalong the blade.

The lower part of the bisecting and pitting mechanism also includes apair of horizontally extending, vertically disposed side plates 66(FIGS. 1, 2, 6) that slidably engage the oppositely outwardly facingsurfaces of the adjacent runs of belts 7 ,7 where the latter are atopposite sides of apricots 5. These plates are slidably supported alongtheir lower edges on pins 67, and springs 68 react between heads 69 onsaid pins and the plates 66 to yieldably hold the plates against saidbelts and to yieldably hold the belts against the apricots. The latterhave been oriented by the time they reach the bisecting and pittingmechanism, so that the sutures of the pits are in a vertical planeextending longitudinally of the machine and substantially midway betweenplates 66 and belts 7, 7

Upper part of bisecting and pitting assembly The upper part of thebisecting and pitting assembly comprises, for the most part, a generallyhorizontally extending, elongated hold-down member 70 that is ofinver-ted V-shape in cross-sectional contour, formed with upturnedcurved opposite end portions 72, 73 (FIGS. 1, 5). Member 70 is formedwith a longitudinally extending central slot along the apex of itsinverted V-shaped contour within which is fitted a horizontallyelongated cutting blade 74 ('FIGS. 5, 6) that is rigidly secured to saidmember in any suitable manner, such as by pins 75. The straightintermediate portion of the member 70 preferably extends substantiallythe full length of the blade 74. The lower cutting edge of blade 74projects downwardly a sufficient distance to cut the body of an apricotat its upper side to substantially the pit, and the straight lower edgeof blade 74 slants slightly downw-ardly relative to member 70 in adirection toward the discharge end of the machine.

Two pairs of upstanding ears (FIG. 1) are integral with the hold-downmember and project upwardly from its upper side, one pair 76 (FIG. 5)being adjacent to curved end 7a, and the other pair 77 is adjacent tothe opposite curved end 73, which end is nearest the discharge end ofthe machine. A pair of links 78, 79 swingably suspend the hold-downmember 70 from a horizontally extending overhead support 80', one end ofwhich support projects toward the discharge end of the machine where itis connected with the frame 1 by a horizontal pivot 81. One of the endsof the arm or link 78 is positioned between the pair of ears 76 and isconnected with said ears by pivot 82 while the other link 79 is betweenand is pivotally connected with ears 77 by pivot 83.

Links or arms 7 8, 79 are parallel, extending generally toward the feedend of the machine, and upwardly from pivots 82, 83 and the upper endsof said links are respectively connected with support 80 by pivots 84,85.

The words forward, forwardly, rear and rearwardly as used herein referto the discharge and feed ends of the machine. Since the apricots moveforwardly in the machine from the rear end, the forward end of themachine is the discharge end, and the rear end is the feed end.

The links 78, 79 thus project rearwardly, and on the rear end of eachlink is a horizontally extending projection, the one on link 78 beingdesignated 86, and the one on link 79 being designated 87.

An upstanding lug or post 88 rigid on projection 86 is connected at itsupper end by a helical spring 89 with a projection 90 that is rigid withthe overhead support 80.

A vertically extending screw 92 threadedly extending through part of therigid projection 90 is adapted to engage projection 87 to limit thedownward movement of the hold-down member 70 under the influence ofspring 89. Spring 89 will yieldably resist upward movement of thehold-down member 70, but permits such movement.

The rigid frame 1 to which the forward end of support 80 is pivotedincludes a lateral projection 93. A vertically extending screw 94threadedly extends downwardly through the support 80 adjacent to pivot82, and said screw is located between said pivot and the portion of theoverhead support carrying the hold-down member. This screw 94 engagesthe projection 93 to limit the bodily downward movement of the hold-downmember, while upward bodily movement of said member is permitted, shouldsufiicient upward force be exerted against the underside of thehold-down member. Screw 94 permits variations in the distance betweenthe hold-down member and the belts 4 when the hold-down member is in itslowermost position, while the screw 92 enables varying the tension onspring 89. Of course the screw 92 also enables varying the distancebetween the hold-down member and belts 4, but the tension of spring 89will be varied at the same time.

At the rear side of the hold-down member is a horizontally elongatedleaf spring 95 that is secured at its rear end to an overhead, rigidcross member 96. This spring terminates in a free forward end at a pointadjacent to the rear end of the hold-down (FIG. 2) and it inclinesdownwardly in a forward direction to slidably and yieldably engage theupper sides of the apricots at about the point where such apricots passbetween the forward ends of plates 66 where belts 7 are approximatelyvertical. The apricots will freely pass below the rear end of thespring.

Operation An important feature of the present invention, both as to theapparatus and the method involved, is the position of the machine. Theframe 1 is arranged, as best seen in FIG. 1, in which the frame 1supports the belts 4, 7, 7', at an upwardly extending incline in adirection from the feed end of the machine to the discharge end.

The degree of inclination of belts 4 and the rate of movement of saidbelts from the feeder 6 to the pitting mechanism 80 are such as toovercome the influence of gravity tending to roll the drupes down theincline, but nevertheless the drupes are always under said influence,and it causes the substantially instantaneous spacing between apricotswhen the trailing apricot of an adjacent pair bumps into the leadingapricot. Smaller sized apricots move faster than the larger ones,particularly when deposited from the feeder onto the lower ends of belts4, since they are lighter in weight than the larger ones, and othersurface irregularities can affect the rate of travel and consequentengagement between apricots.

Substantially higher efliciency in "both orienting the apricots and inbisecting and pitting them is the result of the upward inclination ofthe belts 4, 7, '7', and the movement of one of the orienting belts 7,7' faster than the other contributes to the better orienting of theapricots and to the new and improved results from inclining the belts 4,7, 7, as described.

The degree of inclination of the belts 4, 7, 7 relative to horizontalmay vary, but is normally preferable at approximately five to thirtydegrees.

oppositely to the direction shown in FIG. 8.

In operation, the apricots are fed in single file and in substantiallyequally spaced relation onto the feed end of belts 4 which rapidlycarries them to the right, as seen in FIG. 1, to the bisecting andpitting assembly. As the apricots are so carried on belts 4, they arerotated about their horizontal axes so that the lower sides of theapricots will move generally in the same direction as they are beingcarried, and their upper sides will move generally in the oppositedirection. The engagement between the opposite sides of the apricots andbelts 7 and the differential between the rate of movement of belts 7 andbelts 4 effects positive orientation of the apricots so the sutures oftheir pits will be in a vertical plane parallel with intermediate belts4.

Upon the apricots reaching the feed end of the bisecting and. pittingassembly, they will be oriented, and the sharpened edge of the overheadblade 74 will bisect the body to the pit by the time the apricot reachesthe row of teeth 46. The inverted V-sh-aped hold-down 70 will center theapricot as well as urge it downwardly against belts 4, while theparallel vertically disposed belts 7, in cooperation with side plates66, will insure against inaccurate and wasteful cutting of the body ofthe apricot by blade 74.

The teeth 46 of blade 44 will enter the cut formed by the cutting edgeof blade 74, and the rate of the generally reciprocatory and oscillatorymovement of blade :4 relative to the rate at which the apricots iscarried by belts 4 is such that the teeth 46 will positively engage thelower edge of the pit after the body has been bisected, to rotate thepit in -a direction opposite to the direction of rotation of the body(FIG. 8). The pit may be engaged several times by the teeth 46 to effectthis result before the body of the apricot leaves the pitting andbisecting assembly, thereby completely forcing the pit from the meat orbody of the apricot.

FIGS. 6, 7 are illustrative of the progressive movement of the apricotas it enters the bisecting and pitting mechanism.

FIG. 8 shows the bisected body at the time teeth 46 engage the pitAfter. the halves and pits are completely separated from each other andleave the bisecting and pitting assembly they will be carried off thedischarge end of the machine and the freed pits may readily be removedfrom the fruit halves, it being understood that the pits are completelyfree from the halves at this time.

The machine illustrated shows a machine for handling one file ofapricots. It is obvious that a plurality of sets of belts and bisectingand pitting assemblies may be incorporated in a machine and operatedsimultaneously from a single source of power, which is the practice inmany commercial installations.

While a preferred form of the invention is shown and described, it is tobe understood that changes in details of construction can be madewithout departing from the invention within the scope of the appendedclaims, and in connection with such possible modification, the teeth 46on blade 45 may be of inverted V-outline or slanted In either case, thereciprocation of the blade is so rapid that positive relative rotationbetween the pit and the body of the fruit would be effected, whethersuch rotation of the pit were in the same direction as the rotation ofthe body or in the opposite direction.

It will be understood that various modifications may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit of our invention, and that therefore we do notintend to limit ourselves in any manner other than as pointed out in thefollowing claims.

We claim:

-1. The method of spacing adjacent pairs of generally spherical drupesof different sizes in a row thereof while moving said row in onedirection longitudinally thereof 8 from a feeder to a pitting mechanismthat includes the steps of:

(a) rollably supporting said drupes in said row on a surface extendingbetween said feeder .and said mechanism for movement of the drupes ofadjacent pairs toward and away from each other on said surface;

(b) supporting said surface at an upward incline from said feeder tosaid mechanism of approximately an angle relative to horizontalsufficient to cause said drupes to roll down said surface solely underthe I influence of gravity in the absence of any obstruction to suchrolling;

(c) rotating said drupes on said surface about generally horizontallyextending axes normal to said row, and carrying said drupes on saidsurface longitudinally of said row toward said pitting mechanism bymoving said surface upwardly longitudinally of said row from said feederto said mechanism at a rate of speed sufiicient to overcome the saidinfluence of gravity whereby the drupes of said row will not only becarried up said surface, but upon engagement between trailing andleading drupes of an adjacent pair thereof on said surface during theirsaid upward movement with said surface, the movement of said trailingdrupe will be immediately retarded under said influence of gravity forspacing it from the leading drupe;

(d) holding said drupes in said row with the latter extendinglongitudinally of said incline during said movement of said drupes.

2. In the method as defined in claim 1, in which said drupes and thepits therein have sutures in one plane and are of slightly lessthickness in a direction normal to said plane;

(e) feeding the drupes of said row onto the lower end of said surface inindiscriminate positions with respect to their said major and minoraxes;

(f) moving the drupes on said surface about different axes includingsaid horizontal axes during their movement up said surface to saidpitter until their sutures are vertical and in the plane of said row andthen holding said drupes with their said sutures in said plane and forrotation thereafter substantially only about their said horizontal axesduring movement to said pitter at the upper end of said surface.

3. In the method as defined in claim 1:

i (e) slidably and yieldably engaging the outer surfaces of said drupesat points at opposite sides of said drupes spaced above said drupesupporting surface for holding said drupes against said drupe supportingsurface during movement with said latter surface of said pitter.

4. The method of feeding generally spherical drupes of difierent sizesto be pitted to a pitting station that includes the steps of:

(a) rotatably supporting said drupes in an upwardly inclined row on acorrespondingly inclined drupe supporting surface leading to saidpitting station with said surface at an angle of about 3 to 30 relativeto horizontal;

(b) moving the drupes of said row upwardly on said drupe supportingsurface longitudinally of said row at different rates of speed accordingto the sizes of said drupes and variations in their contours, byfrictionally and slidably engaging the outer lateral sides of saiddrupes between a pair of opposed surfaces at points approximately atopposite sides of said row with sufficient resistance to hold saiddrupes against rolling down said drupe supporting surface, andsimultaneously moving said last mentioned surface and said opposedsurfaces upwardly longitudinally of said row toward said mechanism withsaid drupe supporting surface being moved at a higher rate of speed thansaid pair of surfaces, whereby said drupes will be rotated during theirsaid movement toward said mechanism, and whereby engagement betweenfaster and slower moving drupes of adjacent pairs in said row willresult in momentary loss of momentum of the faster moving drupes andtheir automatic spacing from the slower moving drupes to thereby deliverthe drupes of said row to said mechanism in spaced relation.

5. In an apricot pitting machine that includes a feeder for feedingapricots one at a time in a row to a transfer device, a transfer devicefor conducting such row of apricots fed thereto by said feeder in adirection longitudinally of such row to a pitter, and a pitter to whichapricots on said transfer device are delivered by the latter:

(a) means for supporting said pitter in a position spaced horizontallyfrom said feeder at a level above that of the latter;

(b) said transfer device including an elongated upwardly inclinedconveyor belt extending from said feeder to said pitter having an uppersurface for rotatably supporting such row of apricots fed onto the lowerend thereof by said feeder for rollable movement on said conveyor of theapricots of adjacent pairs relative to each other in a directionlongitudinally of said row; said conveyor being actuatable for movementfrom said feeder to said pitter machine for carrying said apricots tosaid pitter upon actuation of said conveyor;

(c) means connected with said belt for actuating the latter for saidmovement at a rate of speed sufiicient to overcome the influence ofgravity on the apricots adapted to be supported thereon, tending tocause said apricots to roll back down said belt under said influence ofgravity whereby said apricots will be carried to said pitter and will berotated on said belt while so carried.

6. In a pitting machine as defined in claim (d) apricot engaging meansextending longitudinally of and parallel with said conveyor;

(e) means supporting said apricot engaging means in yieldable,frictional engagement with opposite sides of apricots in such row whenthey are supported on said conveyor for maintaining said apricots insaid row.

7. In a construction as defined in claim 6: (f) said apricot engagingmeans being .a pair of vertically disposed endless strips havinggenerally opposed adjacent runs adapted to so engage said opposite sidesof apricots on said upper run of said belt, and pulleys supporting theends of said endless strips for movement of said opposed runs thereoffrom said feeder to said pitting machine upon actuation of said pulleysfor so moving said opposed rims;

(g) means connected with the pulleys at one of the ends of said pair ofendless strips for actuating said strips for said movement of saidopposed runs from said feeder to said apricot pitting machine with onestrip moving faster than the other to thereby orient apricots on suchbelt so their sutures are in a vertical plane substantially bisectingsaid apricots.

References Cited by the Examiner EVON C. BLUNK, Primary Examiner.

J. SPENCER OVERHOLSER, HUGO O. SC-HULZ,

Examiners.

R. M. WALKER, Assistant Examiner.

1. THE METHOD OF SPACING ADJACENT PAIRS OF GENERALLY SPHERICAL DRUPES OFDIFFERENT SIZES IN A ROW THEREOF WHILE MOVING SAID ROW IN ONE DIRECTIONLONGITUDINALLY THEREOF FROM A FEEDER TO A PITTING MECHANISM THATINCLUDES THE STEPS OF: (A) ROLLABLY SUPPORTING SAID DRUPES IN SAID ROWON A SURFACE EXTENDING BETWEEN SAID FEEDER AND SAID MECHANISM FORMOVEMENT OF THE DRUPES OF ADJACENT PAIRS TOWARD AND AWAY FROM EACH OTHERON SAID SURFACE; (B) SUPPORTING SAID SURFACE AT AN UPWARD INCLINE FROMSAID FEEDER TO SAID MECHANISM OF APPROXIMATELY AN ANGLE RELATIVE TOHORIZONTAL SUFFICIENT SOLELY UNDER THE DRUPES TO ROLL DOWN SAID SURFACESOLELY UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF GRAVITY IN THE ABSENCE OF ANY OBSTRUCTIONTO SUCH ROLLING; (C) ROTATING SAID DRUPES ON SAID SURFACE ABOUTGENERALLY HORIZONTALLY EXTENDING AXES NORMAL TO SAID ROW, AND CARRYINGSAID DRUPES ON SAID SURFACE LONGITUDINALLY OF SAID ROW TOWARD SAIDPITTING MECHANISM BY MOVING SAID SURFACE UPWARDLY LONGITUDINALLY OF SAIDROW FROM SAID FEEDER TO SAID MECHANISM AT A RATE OF SPEED SUFFICIENT TOOVERCOME THE SAID INFLUENCE OF GRAVITY WHEREBY THE DRUPES OF SAID ROWWILL NOT ONLY BE CARRIED UP SAID SURFACE, BUT UPON ENGAGEMENT BETWEENTRAILING AND LEADING DRUPES OF AN ADJACENT PAIR THEREOF ON SAID SURFACEDURING THEIR SAID UPWARD MOVEMENT WITH SAID SURFACE, THE MOVEMENT OFSAID TRAILING DRUPE WILL BE IMMEDIATELY RETARDED UNDER SAID INFLUENCE OFGRAVITY FOR SPACING IT FROM THE LEADING DRUPE; (D) HOLDING SAID DRUPESIN SAID ROW WITH THE LATTER EXTENDING LONGITUDINALLY OF SAID INCLINEDURING SAID MOVEMENT OF SAID DRUPES.